The Bud Money Rolls in for Washington State
This year has seen a bumper crop for the weed industry in Washington. In 2014, the year we legalized, the whole cannabis industry made just under $50 million. In the first three months of 2016, sales across the state topped $54 million. That is a significant amount of doobies, y’all.
Where is all this revenue coming from?
One source could be a shift from booze to weed. While liquor retailers haven’t seen a drop in profits, weed sales have been outpacing liquor all year long, and so far the state has collected almost $70 million more in taxes from cannabis industries than from liquor sales.
I’m thrilled by the idea that weed is finally showing up as a legal contender to the booze industry. Alcohol is a notorious source of so many toxic elements in families and communities across this country; from addiction and health problems to overdoses and violence, alcohol’s legacy is written in stone. Not that I think we need to ban it, but its ubiquity in American society could be dialed back a notch or two and I wouldn’t mind at all. Weed’s reputation as a universal chill pill could be one resource needed to help generations of alcoholics break the cycle.
Read more: http://www.seattleweekly.com/food/the-bud-money-rolls-in-for-washington-state/
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